Kai Havertz’s winner sees Mikel Arteta’s masterplan finally come to fruition

It has taken longer than expected, but Kai Havertz’s winning intervention at Brentford marked the moment that Mikel Arteta’s masterplan finally came to fruition.

This was a goal that was months in the making and a move that was first devised in the summer, when it became clear to Arsenal that signing Havertz from Chelsea was a genuine possibility.

For almost five months, Arsenal and Arteta have been waiting for the realisation of their vision. A cross from the right wing, a back-post run from Havertz, a goal for Arsenal.

It happened twice in three games on their pre-season tour of the United States but, until this weekend, had not worked in competitive action.

The theory is as follows: when Arsenal face deep-lying opponents who pack the penalty box, they need a different sort of threat in the area.

Someone bigger than Gabriel Jesus or Eddie Nketiah, and someone more likely to cause problems in the air. Someone for the wingers, who receive so much of the ball in wide positions, to aim for with their crosses.

That player, in the eyes of Arteta, is Havertz. An attacking midfielder who, when the moment is right, can reinvent himself as a target man.

“Against this block, and against teams that defend the box like this, you need this type of profile,” said Arteta after Saturday’s win, which sent Arsenal to the top of the Premier League table. “He is exceptional at that. He won the game in that action for us.”

Why has it taken 13 games of the Premier League season for the plan to work? Rather than an absence of effort, it seems to have been a lack of chemistry.

In the first few weeks of the campaign, especially, it appeared that Havertz would either make the run and not receive the cross, or not make the run on the occasions when the cross came in. “He got in great areas and the ball didn’t arrive,” Arteta said in August, after just three games of the new campaign. “In a lot of situations he should have scored a lot of goals already this season.”

In Los Angeles this summer, Havertz explained that he had been instructed by Arteta to attack the back post whenever the ball went wide to the right wing. “I always have to arrive there,” he said. “It is important for my position, and also with my height. I want to score goals, it is part of my game.”

With Bukayo Saka providing such devastating deliveries from the flank − he produced a similarly devilish cross for Leandro Trossard to score at Chelsea − it was always going to be a matter of time before Havertz finally found himself in a goalscoring position. On Saturday, in the 89th minute of a perilous trip to Brentford, the timing could not have been better.

Clearly, Havertz has a long way to go before he can begin to justify his £65 million transfer fee and the associated wages, which are enormous. It almost goes without saying that the third most expensive player in Arsenal’s history will need more than one goal from open play to convince the club’s supporters of his value.

But Saturday’s victory was certainly the biggest step forward he has taken, and Arsenal will hope that his winner proves transformational for his confidence. Havertz is a thoughtful, introspective individual and there is no doubt that these first few months have been challenging for him. A little more self-belief, and a little more fire in the belly, could make all the difference as Arsenal approach the busy festive period.

There is obvious affection towards Havertz from the players and the coaching staff. Everyone associated with the club is aware of the 24-year-old’s talent, and they all know what sort of player they could have on their hands, if he is able to fulfil his potential.

“Everybody hugging him and cuddling him,” was how Arteta described the post-match love-in for the German. “It is for a reason. It is because of the way he behaves in difficult moments. He is an example for all of us.”

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